MTV VJ Jesse Camp Releases Debut Album


Bizarre MTV VJ Jesse Camp has released his first album. Camp entered the spotlight as the winner of MTV's 1998 "I Wanna Be A VJ" contest. He beat out thousands of other hopefuls with his uniquely scruffy charisma. He had a strange mixture of spaceyness and street smarts. Love him or hate him, Camp drew a lot of attention and his VJ stint, originally scheduled to last only a few weeks, lasted a year.

Jesse and the 8th Street Kidz, in stores May 25th, is Camp's debut album on Hollywood Records. There are some high powered and talented players participating in the 19 year old's debut. The 14 songs on Jesse and the 8th Street Kidz are produced by Grammy Award winner Rob Cavallo, who has also produced Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls and Alanis Morissette. Steve Hunter, best known for his work with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed, plays guitar throughout, and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen plays on five songs. There is even a duet ballad with Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac.

As you might expect with Camp, the making of the album was anything but normal. "We had the best time making the record, cranking tunes every night after work at MTV," says Camp. "and I really bonded with all the guys. In the recording studio we tried to make it a party scene..instead of just one dude singing into a microphone."

Music is nothing new to Camp. While in junior high school he began playing in bands as a drummer, guitarist and vocalist. His earliest influence was Kiss, soon to be followed by Alice Cooper, Guns n' Roses, Metallica, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC.

Jesse and the 8th Street Kidz is actually a pretty good album. The songs are on the heavy metal side, but very melodic. Camp's quirky speaking style you've seen on MTV is also a quirky singing style on the album. It's a little distracting at first, but you do get used to it.

As Camp looks toward a rock and roll future, he puts his whirlwind past into perspective. "Becoming a VJ was the best accident that has ever happened to me, but it really was an accident. I've tried to make the most of it, while still staying true to myself. There have been a lot of growing pains, but I'm more comfortable being myself than ever before. All the things I thought were wrong about me- stuff that made me an outcast when I was a kid- I found out that those are the best things about me."

The copyright of the article MTV VJ Jesse Camp Releases Debut Album in Pop Music is owned by Chad Bowar. Permission to republish MTV VJ Jesse Camp Releases Debut Album in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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